REVIEW: Titleist Vokey SM8 Wedges and WedgeWorks

GR8 Shape, GR8 Performance and GR8 Customization
Bob Vokey is on his 8th rendition of the Spin Milled wedge and this is certainly his best wedge to date.  It takes refinement of shape, adjustment of sole and better performance to get new wedges into the hands of golfers.  While many golfers are simply loyal to the brand, the golfer purely interested in performance is brand agnostic and will put whatever wedge performs best into their bag.  The Titliest Vokey SM8 is Gr8 in every area of performance.  Plus the added bonus of some WedgeWorks customization and you have a combo that fits your needs and shows off your style.
For me, I think ever wedge conversation starts with the sole/grind.  The way the club interacts with the turf, really determines how accurate I will hit a wedge.  Vokey has always had many options when it comes to soles and grinds.  The Titleist Vokey SM8 has 6 grinds to fit your needs.  I went with a 54* S-grind and a 58* D-grind.  I went with these grinds after doing the online fitting based on my swing, conditions and wants.  It is a very easy online system that spits out what you should get to best serve your game.  I have been impressed by the results of such an accurate online fit.
 

The Titleist Vokey SM8 wedge has a gr8 shape which inspires confidence behind the ball.  For me how the leading edge looks is really the second most important feature of a wedge.  I need to see a clean line from hosel to toe for set-up.  The SM8 wedges have an excellent transition line which allows me to set the club down behind the ball and know I’m going to hit the ball cleanly off any lie.  I like the squarer look of the SM8 compared to some previous models.  I know the sitting in the bag position isn’t that important, but that angle looks cool too.  The modern flair of the “Vokey Design” slightly cut out looks very nice.

MOI was all the talk with drivers for a while, but it is also important with wedges.  While it might not be about making the most forgiving wedge, it is about feel, control and consistency.  If the MOI is dialed in, so is your performance.  The Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges have a reimagined MOI as the mass was shift toward the toe and closer to the face, drawing the CG away from the hosel toward the center of the face in all directions.

The Titleist Vokey SM8 wedge is still a cast wedge with the improved CG as I mentioned above the feel improves too.  These are some of Vokey’s best feeling wedges too.  While feel is subjective, it does create a level of confidence on the course.  That crisp clean yet soft feel off a perfectly struck wedge sticks in your memory for the next wedge shot.

The Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges shine on the course.  I was impressed by their consistent performance.  I felt like these have one of the best overall, every shot sort of performance.  I found that shot after shot was excellent.  I only had a couple hole outs with them, but shot after shot was predicable and consistent.  I had excellent yardage control with the 54* hitting right around 100 yards on full shots and the 58* hitting 80 yards and less for everything from full to touch shots.  The grinds interacted perfectly with the firm AZ turf as well as extricating the ball from some gnarly grass in heavily watered areas.  The Spin Milled grooves are sharp and give the ball some nice bite.  Just enough back spin to hold, but not too much to back the ball off the green.

The final features that made the Titleist Vokey SM8 my gamer wedges is the WedgeWorks customization.  It is about as simple as a process could be to have some stamping, color changes and custom options installed in your new wedges.  There are stamping options, which I chose iGolfReviews to grace my wedges.  I went with a combo of red, white and black between the various paint fills.  I didn’t go with any hand grinds since I felt pretty confident with the stock options.  I went with some of the cool shaft labels and added some murdered out grips.  I went with the tour chrome finish because it just looks so good for a long time and matches my irons nicely.   It adds about $50 per wedge, but the limitless possibilities to customize them is worth it.

The Titleist Vokey SM8 wedge is gr8 in every detail, shape, performance, feel, and customization.  This was a big step forward for the Vokey line and it shows.   I think wedge fitting is key to great performance.  While I normally recommend doing an in-person, on grass fitting; the online tool worked really well and with social distancing, it is the best option.  I would highly recommend the online fitting tool so that you buy the proper grind and wedges for your game.  The SM8 wedges are GR8.

Check the price online here

For more information: www.vokey.com/

Quick Hits:
+Online Fitting tool
+WedgeWorks customization
+Adjusted CG
+Gr8 feel
+Excellent performance
+Cools looks
+So many grind options

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